It occurred to me to ask the kids whether they had heard of a popular video game I’ve been reading about in the news. Yes, they tell me, but they have no inclination to play it.

I appreciate that they are making parenting relatively easy for the moment, particularly since (should I hold her to it?) Katherine announced that she would never want a cellphone. We’ll see. Remember: Katherine just turned 9, and Nathaniel just turned 7.

Before they get too smug, however, I let them know that as they grow, they’re likely to want some things that their friends have, and that their parents do not want them to have, and that we may have more difficulty seeing eye-to-eye later on.

Their response? Nathaniel immediately lays claim to a rebellious desire he’d like to fight for when he’s older: “Yeah, like three cats of my own.”